vagabond blog: thoughts from the saddle

March 15, 2010

Fly & Ride

Looks like I will be leaving the gloomy Midwest in the morning in exchange for sunny Florida. I will be boarding the 7:05 flight to Fort Myers and heading to Gulf Coast Motorcycles where they have an 09 BMW 1200GS on reserve to become B-town Beans next coffee delivery vehicle.

Doing a fly & ride trip has turned out be a real exercise in packing strategy, particularly if you are an ATGATT sort of rider. For those of you who don’t know what that means, it means I do not ride without a complete array of protective gear: helmet, gloves, riding jacket, pants or full suit & boots. I will be riding home in a broad range of weather, including temps in the 70s down to the 30s, rain, sun (hopefully!) and who knows what else. In March, pretty much anything can happen. This means I will be bringing some warmer clothes and an electric jacket along.

To further complicate the matter, the bike I am buying has no luggage on it and for a BMW guy, that poses a serious problem! I was riding the Blue Ridge Parkway a few years ago on a BMW RT when a flock of Duc riders (pun intended) flagged me down. They climbed off their 996 sport bikes, walked over to me and asked if I had anything to clean their face shields with, as it had been raining all day. Of course I did! I pulled out a rag and small bottle of cleaner and passed it around. One of the riders looked at the group and said, “See, I told you. Just find a Beemer rider. They carry everything!” So true.

Is a Roadcrafter considered a carry-on?

So here I am this morning trying to figure out how to get all of these things on a plane. I ride in a one-piece Roadcrafter suit. It it is pretty heavy, being draped in body armor and such. Since it is replete with pockets, I wonder if I should just wear it on the plane? Think I will get funny looks? Will it qualify as a carry on?

The suit is only one problem. Aside from the clothes I am taking, I need to pack a tank bag, gloves, etc. Not only that, I am a Master’s student and I am in class, so I have to take my laptop. Also, I just purchased a new Nikon DSLR and want to take some photos. If that were not enough, I am a coffee roaster by trade and plan to brew some roadside coffee along the way with a Jet Boil and pourover!

As you can see, the challenge today is to pack. The suit, tankbag, clothes and other gear are going in a waterproof duffel. I know the baggage screeners are going to have fun when they see my electric jacket! This leaves my helmet and boots. No way am I going to trust my Arai with anyone but me, so it becomes carry-0n number 1.

Not trusting this with a baggage handler!

Looks like I might have to wear the boots. It will be pretty entertaining taking them off to go through security! I have my coffee gear packed and will put it…somewhere!

I spend most of my life in too big of a hurry, but on this trip, even though the ride will be rather hasty, I will try to stop along the way and document it with photos and frivolity! You might as well ride along.

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riding, roasting & random nonsense

I have been riding motorcycles since age 7 and roasting coffee since 2002. Motorhead Coffee came about as a merger of those two passions. When I owned a wholesale coffee roasting business, I provided “Motorhead Coffee” to various groups, rallies and businesses in the motorcycle industry and the name just stuck.

This space is not just about coffee or bikes, but about the freedom of the road, the pleasure of the ride...and the desire to stop living someone else's life & and pursue your own passions.